This invention relates to the machine tool arts and more particularly to machine shop grinders. Still more particularly, this invention relates to a multispindle pedestal grinder.
Pedestal grinders are widely used in machine shops to carry out grinding, finishing, wire brushing, sanding, etc. operations. Pedestal grinders, in the well known configurations, typically have a central motor mounted on a pedestal which is fixed to the machine shop floor. The shaft of the motor is usually extended outwardly on both ends to provide a mechanism for attaching grinding, finishing, brushing, sanding wheels and the like to the motor. Thus, two different wheels may be carried by one pedestal grinder. However, as is well known in the art, more than one pedestal grinder, typically three, may be required in a given machine shop to increase productivity and efficiency by avoiding the need to constantly change wheels on a single grinder. This arrangement is subject to objections. Valuable floor space is taken, and the cost of multiple grinders is a factor. It will therefore be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a multispindle pedestal grinder, capable of having six wheels always available without the need to set up for various jobs, would be highly desirable and would further take up little more shop space than a single grinder. The present invention achieves this goal in a simple, highly effective and economic manner.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved by a multispindle pedestal grinder including: a head block, an indexable head rotatably supported by the head block, a plurality (typically three) of spindles rotatably supported by the indexable head, the axes of rotation of the spindles being parallel to one another and to the axis of rotation of the indexable head, a source of rotating power such as an electric motor; and a belt drive selectively coupling only: a first one of the spindles to the source of rotating power when the indexable head is in a first index position; a second one of the spindles to the source of rotating power when the indexable head is in a second index position; and a third one of the spindles to the source of rotating power when the indexable head is in a third index position.